A large part of St Fagans National History Museum’s commitment to OpenArch centres around the reconstruction of a medieval court dating from the time of one of Wales’s most famous princes, Llywelyn ap Iorwerth.

This court is to be based on an example found on Anglesey, called Llys Rhosyr. This site was excavated in the 1990s by the Gwynedd Archaeological Trust, and in developing a model for the reconstruction we have been heavily reliant on their excavation records and advice.

On 31 January 2011, a seminar was held at St Fagans in which the draft architectural plans for the reconstruction were outlined to an audience which included archaeologists, architects, historians, linguists, and musicologists, all with an interest in medieval Wales.

The seminar began with a presentation from John Williams Davies, Director of Collections and Research at National Museum Wales, who explained how the Llys Rhosyr project fitted into the larger St Fagans Redevelopment Project. Mark Redknap and Gerallt Nash then introduced the draft reconstruction model, and external speakers Huw Pryce, Sioned Davies and Dylan Foster Evans provided historical context for the project.

The day was extremely valuable for the insights it provided the project team, particularly as to the importance of the reconstruction project. When complete the project will provide visitors to St Fagans with a unique opportunity to explore a medieval environment, and to learn about a pivotal time in Welsh history.

Next steps for the project included further refinement of the architectural model, the selection of a location for the building on site, costing of the model, and submission of the plans for Planning Permission with Cardiff County Council.

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

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